What About Gaza?

Well, what about Gaza? We've heard that name over and over and over. We've heard about it a lot. It's all over the news, and it's interrupted by other shocking and amazing things that happen in the news. But we're in a period of time called perilous times. When Paul wrote that, recorded in 2 Timothy 3, verse 1, he wasn't necessarily talking about the start of a date, the perilous times from once in a while, but he was mainly talking about...

there's always a reference or a connection with the end time. In the prophecy of the Old and New Testament, it runs to the end of things, how the denouement will come out. So, we've already entered a period of perilous times, much more dangerous times than we've had before. A lot of the world has had much more of that than we've had in America, of course.

But it's increasing here as well. This period of time is referred to in Matthew 24, when Christ said there will be a period or a time when you'll hear of wars and rumors of wars. Sometimes you hear of a war that started and turns out it wasn't a war at all. It was a rumor. That's pretty rare, but apparently that's going to become more common the way it reads. But we're ramping up overall to a crisis at the close, and as I mentioned, and this time I will read... Ephesians 16, 6, 10. I can get to it here. Verse 12.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against wicked spirits in high places. In other places, he mentions a couple of other terms, but authorities and powers and so on. We're not sure what that is, but we do know and are aware that the devil does have control and is the ruler of this world. He's the god of this world. So what's happening now has happened before. We have a small thing start, a skirmish or a war or just a fight, and it'll develop into a bigger and bigger thing.

And depending on just how Satan can manipulate things, people get themselves... Let's say we humans get ourselves in positions where we're kind of in a crack and we have to choose and we have two bad choices. It's not one good one. At least we think. And so people decide to do things that they know is going to cause harm and be really bad, but they do it anyway because their judgment, the alternative is worse.

And that's just kind of a statement of human nature. But it's happening right now where we have small powers. Israel itself was much more important than the size of its population because of God's promises. But they're a small nation, but everybody in the world knows about them. They're dominant and prominent in different ways. And that's because God is doing something through them that Satan doesn't like, so he's fighting it. But the Palestinians are a very small population, and they're stirring things up.

And of course, each side has its allies. And God made sure, and prophesy will come to that, that the modern nation of Israel, which is the tribe of Judah, would have the physical backing and the physical resources to defend themselves and would back them in that.

So we have small powers. They're doing things with unknown consequences, unanticipated consequences. And even if they know that it's going to cause a problem, that's what they want. But it'll turn out bigger than they ever thought because God is going to bring this to a close. And he says, I will triumph. We'll come to that one, too. So let's see if we can get some background here. First of all, Genesis 12.7, God said, I will give this land. Genesis 12, when he made that promise to Abraham, and he was talking about basically it's called Canaan.

It goes all the way from the river of Egypt, not the Nile, but the smaller river that separates by a river, Egypt and, well, whatever has been called through the centuries.

But God said he would give it from that all the way to the land of Assyria, and David actually fulfilled that. He extended his authority as the king of Israel all the way to the Euphrates River. And so that's a rather huge chunk of land, but there are a lot of nations bigger than that. That was only a starting point, of course. So both sides have used a particular argument to say, we own this land. That is, Israel says God gave it to us, and we've had it since Moses and King David and so on.

David Ben-Gurion used the term Judea and Samaria in 1948, when they were fighting the wars there. Just to make the point, we've been here before, and we belong here, and this is our land. It was taken from us. And of course, that made all the Arabs who had moved in generally Arabs a mixture of peoples. But that wasn't appreciated by them. When they tell the story—I actually heard a lecture, I knew of this, and I've read articles— they start telling about, well, now the background of this, and they never go back that far.

They just state, we were here, and we've been here since, blah, blah, blah. They don't even acknowledge that the kingdom of David existed. Now there's archaeological evidence, more and more mounting evidence, and a lot of them still don't acknowledge that. So both of them use the idea that we were here first. And Israel adds that God gave it to us. But the other side, the Arabs, this mixture of peoples, says, no, Mohammed came to Jerusalem, there's Medina and Mecca, holy cities, he came there, and he made a night journey to heaven and back from Jerusalem.

So Jerusalem is the third most holy place, holy city, to the Muslim world. And so they claim it. Both have the logic of we were here first, and both have the logic of God gave it to us. It's His will. And so it's like what's happening is when an unstoppable train hits an immovable object. My dad told me to figure that one out when I was eight or ten, you know. And I thought and thought, but if it's unstoppable, but if it can't be, you know, when I went back and forth and finally figured out, it's not possible.

And it was designed to make little kids stretch their brains, I guess. But in a sense, the same thing is happening. Neither side, both are intractable, and neither side will give up. And they both claim the right to ownership. It's interesting that Israel's right to ownership from God was because of a covenant, not just a promise or a gift, but a covenant promise. And they broke the covenant, so they lost the land. And so they lost that right.

And the Arabs weren't dealing with the true God anyway, and they don't have that. They would disagree, of course. But it's just that's humans directed by Satan. This is what we come to. The unstoppable train and the immovable object, and you're not going to solve it without God's divine intervention. But both have a religious claim and a logical claim. And so what we have to do is realize then that in Hebrew— well, several places mentioned in the New Testament, Romans 4-13, I think, is one where it— and then Galatians also—but it just says that God expanded the promises to Abraham, and that enveloped the whole world in his kingdom.

And so that all peoples and all land would be owned by those people he chose. And that would be the church of the firstfruits, and that would expand after the first resurrection, and that would expand throughout the millennium to include the whole world. And so those who have come to be a part of God's family will inherit, along with Christ, this territory. But that's what it is. It is a territory. Psalm 105 is one of the scriptures that talks about this. This is a big argument over territory. It also has jealousy and a few other things involved in it.

But it has to do with God's plan, his sovereign will, and what he's going to do. And so only the family of God have a right to Jerusalem or the surrounding, the land of Canaan generally, which is next division from the Euphrates down the river of Egypt. And in fact, he expanded to the whole world.

Only those in the family of God have a right to the world. And of course, then the physical will be changed to spiritual and magnified in ways we don't know. But it's interesting that both of these claims are false, except that there are prophecies about this fight, and who would win it, and why. I said, you know, what about Gaza? And we can ask the question, when else, so what does God say about Gaza? So I have about 8,500 scriptures to read to you today. I won't be able to read all of them. But what does God say about this? He says a lot about this. There's the great world powers and all the prophecy, but there are prophecies about this particular land.

And we want to look at that. I mentioned Psalm 105 verses 8 through 11, the promise that was a covenant promise. And you can add to that. I think I will read one of them. It's Psalm 60. And so we'll just read this one.

There are four main Psalms about this. Well, actually three and others mentioned. So here's Psalm 60 and verse 6. This starts out as a Psalm David saying, why have you cast us off? We're losing wars and so we need your help and so on. Well, let's read verse 4. You have given a banner to them that fear you, those people who are on the road to being in God's family, that it may be displayed because of the truth.

And so the idea is that this conflict has to do with making the world and all mankind understand the truth about what's going on here. And that is that it has to do with God's plan. So let's see. Verse 5 then. And by the way, verses 5 through 12 are quoted in almost word for word in Psalm 108. And that's verses 7 to 10. You probably have it. There's a little note in here. The reference Bible probably is there. Easy to come by. So it was 60 and quoted in 108 and I already quoted in 105. Okay, verse 5. That your beloved may be delivered, save with thy right hand, and hear me. And this is from David himself writing this. He wrote most of the Psalms.

So in his holiness there is joy. God is delighted. He's happy because he's running his plan. It's a tremendous result, namely his family. So he said, I will divide Shechem. By the time he wrote this, that had already been divided among the children of Israel. Later they lost it. So what does he mean? He's talking about not just history, but he's talking about the future. I will divide Shechem. And this has to do... That was one of the oldest cities, modern city of Nablus. And he will, once again, divide it when everything is mixed up and he has to re-divide the entire world. Shechem was north of Samaria. Gilead is mine. I was across the river in the heights. Manasseh is mine. Ephraim also is the strength of mine head. Ephraim was the head of the nation of Israel. And then Judah is my lawgiver. Laud in that. Now, notice this. This is a departure from God's joy and what he's doing in his willful plan. Moab, verse 8, is my wash pot. And overem, while I cast my shoe... That's translated a little bit differently because it's unclear, but it has to do with disrespect for Edom. And just owning them... And one translation puts it, I will make Edom serve me instead of I will cast my shoe because of the idea of disrespect. Philistia, triumph thou because of me. And that is apparently incorrect. God is saying I will triumph over Philistia. And that would be where the Philistines lived, and that would be in what we call the Gaza Strip but basically Southern Israel. And of course they fought into Southern Judah anciently. But then he talks about Edom going into and then finding this war against Edom. And I'll leave off there. This is quoted in Psalm 108, but Psalm 108, verse 7, where it starts the quote, adds...

Well, verse 6 or 7, I will triumph. I'm going to win this. It's going to happen according to my will. This battle that's begun once again renewed just recently. So that's some background. So what does God say about it? Well, he says that anyway. And a lot of other things. So some overall points then. The spiritual powers are driving this world and have for a long, long time. And in the end, what we have to learn is Proverbs 14, 12, the world will finally learn. There's a way that seems right to man, but by thousands and thousands of wars and tests of this principle, man is proven it's right. Man's way. Without God, we're going to go to death. That's the basic overall idea. And secondly, this is basically a territorial promise, and it's a war over territory. Interesting, some of the Islamic rules and laws about territory. One of them is if a territory anywhere in the world comes under Islamic rule, it can never revert. And they've got to fight a holy war and just never let that happen. Territory was very clearly important to God as a part of His will and how He would run His plan. And territory is also very important to the enemies of God who have different plans about territory. So I mentioned Romans 14 already, verse 3. Another great...well, I mentioned this. This is behind it. The sovereign will and the plan of salvation, that's the whole key. That's what's being run here. And as we understand different parts of it, we're coming to understand those things. Now, there's a bit to say about the family background, and that is, of course, God chose Isaac over Ishmael.

And they didn't seem to have the same level of hatred and vitriol against God about that choice. They kind of went off and lived their own life and own culture, and they are the nomads. Not that everybody is a nomad, but the nomad of that general area. They also... Ishmael migrated to India. There's a large Ishmael-like population in southern India. And so that's another, I think, fascinating story of where did everybody go, but that part of it is not relevant here. Now, he also chose Esau over Jacob, and this is... I think we can learn more over this. We learned about the spiritual covenant, and that's explained in Galatians, Hagar and Sarah, and the sons they had and the two covenants. So that's another story also. But about Esau and Jacob, there's a lot to learn, too. And so I'll just summarize. Esau was a profane man. He didn't care about God. There wasn't in his thinking. He didn't think about God when he made decisions. He went off against the desires of his parents and married a canine woman, and they didn't like that, so he married another one.

He just wasn't concerned with what his parents thought, or God, or authority. He was in it for him. It didn't have any relevance for him in his life, and when it came down to giving up two really big promises of God, he was swindled out of one, but he just flat-out gave up the birthright for a bowl of porridge.

And so this was a profane man that did not consider God, and that—there's their descriptions in Job and Psalms, and New Testament, too—just about a profane person. He just doesn't care about God. He just cut off from God by his own interests and thoughts. So that's what Esau was. Jacob, when you think about it now, he's the one that swindled Esau out of the birthright, and then stole the blessing. You'd think, well, who would you choose? The guy that was the innocent man, the firstborn? Or the other younger son—well, barely younger, they're twins— but who stole everything from his brother and swindled and lied and cheated and everything else? Who would you choose? Well, in the service, just hearing those facts, you'd have to choose Esau the firstborn.

He was innocent. But when you look deeper, the reason Jacob stole the birthright and swindled both the birthright and the inheritance was because he put value in what God had to give. He had faith. It was extremely incomplete.

It was not mixed with good character. He was just living the life of getting everything I can for me. But with the view that what God had, he could take from others and get the value that God had. There was a value there. The seed, let's say, of faith with Esau, it wasn't there at all.

He didn't give a hoot about God. It's fascinating as you follow the history on out through the next few hundred years. And then, of course, modern times. But there is a huge difference, and the difference was faith. And in the case of Jacob, where he started out, less than for us, a little bit of faith.

But real faith, he believed that what God had was valuable. So that's not to mitigate any of his sins. He had to repent of them, and he paid dearly for them. But there was the nubbin, or the seed, of faith there. And Jacob over Esau, and Esau's children were just fine with that. They didn't give a hoot for about 400 years, or more like 700 years. But what happened is they flourished, and they became wealthy. Esau had, I think it was 13 tribes, but 13 princes. They all had their own tribes, sub-tribes, under that. They were wealthy, and they had no worry to worry about Israel. What happened is, God's blessings kicked in for Israel. They grew greater, and they began to be stronger, and actually ruled over Edom. So Edom has hated Israel and their God since then, in general.

So, I want to come back to that, and just point out that there are a series of prophecies about the Mideast. In Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. And then two or three or four of the minor prophets. And to read all that would be impossible, but I'd like to review them, at least point out where they are. And then start out in Isaiah over here. There's a section in Isaiah, and a section in Jeremiah, and also Ezekiel. Large sections where it talks about foreign nations. You're familiar with this. You've read it, and so on. It talks about all three books are mainly about Israel and Judah, and prophecies about them, and his relationship with Israel and Judah, and what will happen in the end. All those things. But this section is about foreigners. We start in Isaiah chapter 13. And we'll just dig in and try to go through several of these things. I won't get this all done, but I'll hopefully get quite a bit done. And go starting in Isaiah chapter 13. Hopefully it won't be... well, actually that's hopeless. It will be a whirlwind tour. But we can do that quickly and effectively for the reason that we're just going to cover... ...emphasize the ones here in the Middle East. Okay, Isaiah 13 starts out, and previously Assyria has been involved with Israel. But this is the prophecies concerning other nations, and that's kind of the heading above this. First of all, the burden of Babylon. There's a lot more about Babylon. It talks even down right away in verse 6. It talks about the day of the Lord.

And I will place the world for its evil. Verse 11. So this goes all the way to the end, and it brings in the Medes and so on. That's chapter 13-14, is Babylon's defeat. There's this an awful lot. Now this is the famous scripture that goes along with Ezekiel 28 about Lucifer, his pride and rebellion. And so that's in the middle of chapter 14 here, and also in Ezekiel 28. But then here is a judgment on Assyria.

It's a smaller section on verse 24-27. But we're in chapter 15 now, and here is a section on Philistia, or the Philistines. Now the Philistines were from Crete. They migrated down and landed on and settled in what's called the Shephala. That's the plain along southern Israel there, and it's where the Gaza Strip includes the Gaza Strip. And we call it the Strip of Land, Gaza and the other four cities of the Philistines still currently exist there. So, in the year that the king Ahaz died, this is Isaiah speaking, verse 28, chapter 15, Rejoice not thou, O Philistia, because the rod of him who smote thee is broken, for out of the serpent's root shall come forth and adder, and his fruit shall be fiery, a flying serpent.

So, poetic language. It's very interesting to dig into it, and we're not going to take that approach this time. But this is against Philistia. And the firstborn of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall lie down in safety, and I will kill the root with famine, and he shall slay thy remnant. So he's talking about good on Israel, bad on you. And it's because of what you've done. Howl, or groan, or wail. That can also be those words. O gate, cry, O city, thou, O Philistia, are dissolved.

The gate and the bar would be the entrance to the city, and what would protect it from being invaded. But for there, verse 31, shall come from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone in his appointed times. Not sure exactly what that means. The Hebrew in poetry is somewhat difficult, and this is especially.

But it's easy to understand what the fire from the north and a smoke is. It says, What shall one then answer, the messengers of the nations, that the Lord has founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall trust in it. It's not that the Jews who live there own and have the right to that land, because they were there first, and they had a promise from God. They blew the promise. They blew the covenant. But it's because God has founded it, and it is His purpose, to prepare that land and to prepare for the whole world, actually, for God's kingdom. And the poor of the people shall trust in it, that is, the Zion, that kingdom.

So a very short little thing, but here's something about an army coming south, from the north. And of course, if you're in the Gaza Strip, that's where it's going to come from. And they have just had that in the last two weeks, this rumbling and this fire and so on. They're quaking in the boots. Most of them have left, over half anyway. And some are clinging, and some are forced to stay, and so on.

But that's just one little blip. So we'll go on from Phyllisia, not too much. But Phyllisia doesn't say the Philistines. There's certainly some remnants there. But Phyllisia is the area, and it's basically southern Israel, the Shephelah, the plain there. And that's where the Philistines got a foothold.

And Israel never did completely dry them out, although they ruled them. But they're still there. And then, of course, when Israel was sent out of the land by God, they moved back in, and other Edomites, and Malachites, and various others. So the same people are still there, or some of the same people are. The burden of Moab now, next in chapter 15. I think I misspoke and said 15. That was, of course, chapter 14. The burden of Moab because in the night, ar of Moab is laid waste and brought into silence.

Because in the night, cure of Moab is laid waste and brought to silence. And I will not continue to read here. It's what you would call, summarized by Bed on Moab. Verse 5, My heart shall cry out for Moab, his fugitives shall flee unto Zor as running south and, pardon me, running mainly straight west to get away from, apparently, the eastern powers who are coming in there. I heard a sermon which lined out every single one of the powers currently and said which side they would be on, the king of the north or the king of the east.

And some of that you can demonstrate, and some of you can't. But there are going to be two huge pincers coming.

But there's a period of time before that that the local smaller powers, just like in ancient times, the ones that are close neighbors to Israel, are fighting. And so there's a differentiation between those two periods, very closely related, by time. I mean, one just before the other. And the very end time, that's what we're focusing on now here in a little bit, and then on into the millennium.

There is great weeping. Shall they go up in the way of Huronaim? Verse 5 still, raise up a cry of destruction. And so without going further, this cry and this wailing in verse 8, Moab is being attacked. And of course, they've been attacked at various times. But this has to do with the end time. Judgment, final judgment, upon Moab. And this continues in chapter 16, verse 1. It talks about the fords of Arnon. And that's an important historical note, and possibly for the future, but not to the point here. And then here is a strange thing in the middle of Moab's prophecy. And it may have to do with this fords of Arnon. Take counsel, execute judgment, make the shadow as the night in the midst of the noon day. How would you do that? Well, it is argued by having really high cliffs in the rock and caves at the bottom of those cliffs dug way back in. If you're in a cave, it can be like midnight in a new day. That's true. But this is cryptic. I'm not sure. Well, that's certainly an explanation of what could happen. But this is something having to do with the end time. It says, Hide the outcasts, and betray not him that wandereth. Let mine outcasts. Who would my outcasts be? It was in the end time. Dwell with thee, Moab, and be thou a covering or a covert to them from the face of the spoiler, for the extortioner is at an end. The spoiler ceases, the oppressors are consumed out of the land, and so this is very near to the end. And in mercy shall the throne be established. He shall set upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David. Just before the end, and it is argued that this is one of the scriptures that demonstrates that there will be a place of safety. God does not restrict himself, and there may be more than one place of safety. But he will provide all of his people with a place of safety. It says, A place, so there seems to be one place the way it's written. And if you'll notice, I'm not stating one way or the other, because I don't think it's known. But anyway, this is an important scripture in terms of prophecy. There is a place where the outcasts at the very end, this is down to the very end, will be saved. Because Christ is almost ready to take these same people who will be under Christ and under David the king. Now, we have heard of the pride of Moab in verse 6, and therefore that's the reason why they are stricken.

And, He shall not prevail. What you'll find is, several statements about these nations right close to Israel, and they're not going to win. That's one of the big points. So here's a statement in verse 12. And because, of course, they fought over and over and over, we have several separate prophecies. Okay, now it goes up to Damascus. They have sided with that side. Syria was a large and prosperous... Remember, Abraham was a Syrian. He called him a wandering Syrian in Deuteronomy. And then, of course, the Israelites themselves wandered. But that's where the Israelites came out. They were an ancient nation, actually very highly regarded in God's estimation in some places. But you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and they will be destroyed too. Next, it goes to chapter 18 in Ethiopia, not right next door.

19, Egypt, and 20 on Egypt as well. And then the Medes and the Persians... Pardon me, pardon me. The Medes and Persians are told to attack and take Babylon, which they did. That's chapter 21. And then we come to two little verses. Edom is a major player in this area. Just two little verses here, but more later.

The burden of Duma... You know, that comes from the last part, Edom, D-O-M, and is related, of course, to the Eroan word for Edomites, which is Idomians, D-O-M or D-U-M. The burden of Duma. He calls to me out of Sier, that's the Mount Sier, that's south of Israel, south of the Dead Sea, and on to the desert.

He ends up on Sinai Peninsula in the absolute desert. But this is Mount Sier. Watchmen, what of the night? Watchmen, what of the night? Just the questions there. The watchmen said, that is the watchmen of Edom, the morning comes and also the night, if you will inquire, and require return and come. So it's an absolutely cryptic statement to be interpreted by other statements at a future time. At least as far as I'm concerned, you can read commentaries and their ideas about what this might mean.

I have not heard anything really authoritative. Now here is Wota Arabia, the Arabian Peninsula. They certainly have joined this huge Confederacy, or just, they're part of the Arab world, the 57 states, and the, that are part of the Arab world, and major parts. And they, of course, at the end time, will come into the, well, he says I'll punish the whole world, so they'll have theirs.

And this section is about Arabia. And it just says they'll fail. It's not directly about the Gaza Strip and the fighting there, so I'm going to pass over that. It's good just to review this whole section. And then, chapter 27, the Valley of Vision, Wupan Jerusalem. That's not the foreign nations. And then, I mean, chapter 22, not 27. Chapter 23 is about Tyre, and this is more than just Tyre. Tyre fell and is long gone, but it is a symbol of the beast power. And so there is a lot said about Tyre and about the relationship, the reason, what their sins were, and the relationships they have with others, and the reason that they are punished.

But it doesn't have directly to do, because it's so big, and a symbol of the beast power at the end time, it doesn't have directly to do with this fight, except that it's in the right place. Tyre is on the north side, Tyre and Sidon. And Christ said, don't go over there. He didn't go. He stopped short of that, because it wasn't. He had come to the Israelites. And so there's this widow from Sidon, and she came down into Israel. And that's where he interacted and healed her. But he himself didn't go past a certain place there.

So because that wasn't part of the plan, the sovereign plan of God. So here's the fall of Tyre mentioned. They have their part in it, and there is... That area still has Tyrians, I'm sure, the descendants of them. But it seems to be Lebanon, and Lebanon is mentioned elsewhere. And that's where Hezbollah is, and they're threatening to come down into Israel today. So that's for your interest, chapter 20... Let's see now... 24-27 is considered... It's called the Little Apocalypse. It goes to end time prophecies, and just fits real well with Matthew and Revelation. The Little Apocalypse. And then, after that, then it comes back to Israel and finishes the book.

Okay, that's Isaiah. So we have a little bit said about the Gaza Strip, and a little bit about the remainder of the Philistines, which would move back in. By the way, they mainly moved back to Crete, and then there was a southern movement. They lived along the Egyptian sea coast. At the same time, they were the Philistines fighting Israel. And they seemed to have moved just either south to Egypt, and then east toward the Sinai Peninsula, and in that general area. But they're all mixed in. A lot of the families are mixed in. Okay, now let's go to the next one in line, which is Jeremiah.

And we'll go to chapter 46. It's actually 46 through 51. A shorter grouping of chapters in Jeremiah. But chapter 46 is about Egypt. The sections are about the nations around, mainly, closely around, mainly Israel. So Egypt, it talks about the Day of the Lord, and it has a lot of dual prophecies in there. For example, there's 27, O Israel. Don't be dismayed, O Israel. Behold, I will save you from afar off, and so on. So this is in the prophecy against Egypt, Day of the Lord and the Day of Vengeance, mentioned in verse 10.

And so we're not necessarily concerned with that on this subject. Then we come to chapter 47. There's more about Philistia. And we're specifically interested in Philistia, because that's where the Gaza Strip is. But it's not just that. It's basically what God gave to Israel, and they lost.

The Arabs took over, and then God, because of the prophecies of Jerusalem being a Jewish nation at the end time, God carved out a piece, and the government of Britain actually gave this small piece, which we call Israel now, gave that back to Israel to fulfill prophecy, not because the Israelites deserve it, or the Jews specifically, or it's because it's His plan. So it's going to be fantastic when we're able to explain that and offer conversion to everybody involved. Because right now, there are a lot of Palestinians who cross over into Israel, or just go in there living with visas.

I've talked to a couple of families that lived there, and they just got along famously, like ourselves and our neighbors on both sides. You know, leaving the key when you go on a trip. It doesn't matter if you're a Jew or a Palestinian. We're neighbors. We're peaceful. That's going on. But Satan has a way of dividing and making it worse and worse, so it's just going to end up in a lot of trouble.

But that's Satan. So we'll get to explain that and help people understand. And when you understand that, you can forgive so much more easily. You see it in yourself that Satan puts wrong thoughts, attitudes, and ideas and concepts in your mind. And you have to fight to get it out. It makes it easier to understand the other guys doing the same thing. So God has a perfect plan. It is perfect to help all of mankind come to the place where we will not only begrudgingly admit that God's right, but then we'll get excited about it. And in the end, those to be in the kingdom are so sold on God's way, they can't be kept from it.

And that's what God is after. That absolute, personal, full character, full-on loyalty and love, and just peace with, and permanent commitment to God the Father and Jesus Christ.

And this plan that involves so much mess, and so much destruction, so much pain, that's what it's leading to. So it's good to keep that in mind back to 47 here. The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines before Pharaoh Smote Gaza, and that's a historical restaurant.

Reference. That's a historical reference. Let's see now. Before Pharaoh Smote Gaza...not a good restaurant name, but just...we'll throw that out. Anyway, before Pharaoh Smote Gaza. But Gaza's been in trouble before, and it's because they make trouble for everybody.

If you've noticed, not one single of the Arabian states, the nations, will accept...and this has been true for decades...they will not accept...they closed the door. No! The people of Gaza can't come here. That's because the terrorists from ancient Amalek moved into that southern area. Israel pushed them back. Israel was taken captive. They moved in, and they inhabit that area. Along with the Palestinians that were Canaanites from the north and other Arab extraction and gurgishites and everything else, there are a lot mixed in there. Philistines. That blend is in there, too. It's in the blend. But the Amalekites are the ones who attacked Israel from behind, just when they were coming out of Egypt. Remember that? It was Amalek. And who did they do? They picked on the ones who were crippled or slow or just tired or something, and the elderly pregnant women who had to drop behind. And so God stopped that. And he said, Israel, stop and fight. And you're going to have to take care of this. That gets into military service and war, and I won't go into that element. But he told at that point, they didn't have the faith at all. They were disobedient. And he said, stop. And that was where Moses held up his hands. And whenever he did, Israel was winning. And he gets tired holding both hands up, you know. And he would slump down, and the Amalek would begin the army. We begin to have the advantage. So Aaron and her, and Miriam's husband, brother and brother-in-law held up his hands. And that was just a symbol. When we're looking to God and we have our hands outstretched and our attitude, we're going to succeed. That was a symbol for all ages, for a relationship with God. At any rate, so they came over there, and they pretty much lived south and a bit east. They were part of Edom, one of the tribes of Edom. They were the troublesome, the bad child, the bad kid, the Amalek.

Interesting story. But that's where they lived, and they moved into the Philistine area and lived there today with the other mixture that does. So there are peace-loving people who would love to get out of Gaza, and there are people that are the terrorists, and they just want to kill.

I just do. Mr. Shabey mentioned this. We played that last week, I guess. By the way, listening to that sermon, when this war started, I started putting these scriptures together, and I was thinking everything I was going to say. And then I listened to Mr. Shabey's sermon, ticked off, point after point after point. So I kind of had to adjust it to...and this is big enough anyway.

But this is the Word of God. These are unpleasant things. This is about war. But it's how he's going to bring peace to war-making mankind. And so it's a time of joy. We talked about it a while ago. God was joyful in doing this because of what it's leading to. And it's a time of joy for us to read, even though it's bad things. But like he said in Luke, you know, just rejoice, be happy, because your redemption draws nigh. So that's what we're doing today. These are the words of God. We need to know all the words of God. And so I'm giving you, like I say, the whirlwind tour to read these carefully with the commentary. It's really fascinating. Okay, go back to this, verse 2, Jeremiah 47.

The waters rise out of the north and overflowing flood. Now remember, last time, we talked about the same thing, where we were reading just a minute ago. This out of the north trouble and noise of warfare. So out of the north shall be an overwhelming or overflowing flood. This is what's going to happen, and it's not talking about water. The men shall cry, and the inhabitants of the land shall wail.

At the noise of the stamping of the hooves of the strong horses, at the war horses that were bred for war, at the rushing of his chariots, and at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers shall not look back to their children for just feebleness of hands. They'll just be scared to death. They won't even be taken care of. Everybody will run for himself, not worried about the kids. Because of the day that comes to spoil all the Philistines, and to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper that remains.

For the Lord will spoil the Philistines, the remnant of the country of Kaphtor, and that is Crete, the country on Crete, the island of Crete. So right here we have Hezbollah in the north. We have the Philistines on the south in Kaphtor. Baldness, verse 5, has come upon Gaza and Eskelon, is cut off with the remnant of their valley. How long will it tell? Cut yourself. Why do you keep doing this stupid stuff, God is saying, in this prophecy? They have been troubling everybody around them for centuries, and they keep being cut back.

They just get wiped out every time. How long will you keep this up? O thou sword of the Lord, how long will it be before you are quiet? Put up yourself into the scabbard, O sword. Rest and be still. In other words, we're going to end this war, God is saying. How can it be quiet, seeing the Lord has given it a charge against Eskelon, so the war is not going to end yet.

Before the end, God has something to do, and He has given it a charge, the sword of war, against Eskelon and against the seashore. There He has appointed it. And what do we hear? From the river to the sea. That's just heard in the news. I've been amazed.

I shouldn't be amazed, but it's just interesting to note that in the news, more and more biblical things and more and more, I would say, biblical wisdom is used. I hear ecclesiastes and proverbs being taught by politicians, not knowing they're quoting the Bible. It's just common sense. So anyway, I thank God so much for the understanding. I need a lot more, but I'm just so thankful for what we do have in our minds. How can it be quiet, this sword?

Because God still has some work to do there. And baldness basically means scraping off like tire. All the buildings are just wiped. Just a royal mess. Okay, there's Gaza, the valley of Gaza connected with Eskelon. Gaza and Eskelon together, and Kaphtor, the Philistines, that whole plain there. And it starts out this noise from the north warning the Philistines, and that has to be Lebanon.

So it's talking about this very area. We're talking about there is punishment coming from the north from Gaza. There is certainly punishment coming from the north because Israel is there. And later, the king of the north will come in and just wipe out everything. And that's after God has stopped his blessings on Israel. And that's part of the plan too. Okay, chapter 48, Moab, big old long chapter.

Moab is in real trouble. Don't have time to read it. They aren't. I guess they're next door. They're going to join in. Right now, they're more peaceful, close to relatives, you know, lots of children. Moab and Ammon. And they're more peaceful, but they're going to be part of it as well. Chapter 49 adds Ammon. And so same treatment. Let's go down to verse 7. This comes back to Edom for Jeremiah here. And this is a long section. And so we'll try to hurry through it. Check the time to hurry even faster. There is Edom. I have made Esau, which is Edom, bare. He's just going to wipe them on.

Wipe them out. And interesting. Edom and Esau are punished worse than anybody. I've noticed that mentioned in commentaries. They are, one man put it this way, the world is going to get clobbered because we have to learn. And we will learn.

The result will be peace. But Esau of all nations is clobbered, the very worst. Amalek, which is part of, which they're part of the Philistia-Palestinian mix. Mixed peoples there that are called Palestinians. Amalek is the activist part, the worst tribe of Edom. Edom was bad, but Amalek was the worst. You can read up on that. Just look up the word in a Bible dictionary. Probably find a statement like that. Esau, I have made bare. Verse 10.

And let's see now. You shall not go unpunished. You shall surely drink of it. That is a cup of punishment. As formed by myself, says the Lord. Verse 13. That, Bosworth shall become a desolation.

One of the main cities is not the main one. At times shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse. People will be glad it's gone all over the world. Its cities shall be perpetual wastes. So some of those cities will not be.

And this is broad enough that we can't identify specifically all the cities that will or will not be ever rebuilt. I've heard a rumor from the Lord, and an ambassador is sent unto the nations, saying, Gather together and come against her, and rise up to battle, and I will make you small among the nations and despise among men. Thy terribleness, that's Edom's terribleness, has deceived thee, and the pride of thy heart. O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, Peter, of course, is being referred to here. They considered it an impregnable city, and without modern warfare or just huge armies, it was never conquered. But eventually everything goes.

Edom shall be a desolation, verse 17. And people will be appalled and hissed at the plagues, and say something like, They deserve it. Overthrown like Sodom and Gomorrah, so some of those cities, nobody can live there, and nobody will live there. So, don't know for how long, if that's millennium long or what.

Verse 20, Therefore hear the counsel of the LORD, that he has taken against Edom, and his purpose is that he is purposed. The earth is moved, and the noise of their fall. Verse 12, And at that day, Bázrá, at that day, verse 22, That was verse 21, I misread that, reversed it. Verse 22, He shall come up and fly like the eagle, and spread his wings over Bázrá, And at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom be like the heart of a woman in her pangs. All courage just leaves, because they know they're really being punished. A lot of these things are very indefinite, but you do get the point that God is going to punish the people in that area.

And especially, here's Damascus, which is Syria again. I won't go back over that. All nations have sinned. Then you have the Arabians, the Kedar and Hazor, and then prophecy against Elam, and then Babylon is chapter 50 and 51. So that rounds out Jeremiah.

Now, the chapters in Ezekiel are verse 25 to 32. If you have a study Bible, you'll probably have different sections of a few verses or quite a few verses, and it'll name the particular nation that the prophecy is against. Most study Bibles will do that, so I'm not going to read this because of the time.

But for a couple of verses, and this is chapter Ezekiel 25, and 5-7.

Verse 5, and Ezekiel 25, I will make Raba a stable for camels, not a real modern city, stable for camels, and the Ammonites a couching place for flocks, and you shall know that I am the Lord.

And, okay, here, because, the word because, verse 6, because you have clapped your hands and stamped with the feet, and rejoiced in heart with all thy despite against the land of Israel.

They just hate the whole Arab world has been made by Satan. I shouldn't say the whole Arab world, but certainly the ones surrounding them, a lot of them, are just full of hatred. On 9-11, they had a picture of the Palestinians. They were in the streets throwing up things in the air, rejoicing, yelling, shooting guns in the air. That's what they do. And they were just so happy a bad thing happened to the great Satan, as I told us, say, America, because they hate us with the same hatred that they hate the Jews. That is, they hate us, the nation here. I will cause thee to perish, verse 7, out of the countries I will destroy you, and you shall know that I am the Lord. Now, same thing with Moab. I'm going to just refer to that next verse, verse 8. And back to Edom, then again, the Lord God said, Because Edom has dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has greatly offended God, and avenged himself upon them. They have had that hatred since Esau realized that Jacob had gotten what he wanted. And they just continued. And then the Philistines, in verse 15, and the judgment on Tyre in this big, long section. That's what I'm going to cover as far as the book of Ezekiel here. And except to point out this, in chapter 25, would you look at verses 5, 7, 11, and 14, and 17, which I shall read to you right now. All this trouble so that these people really get it in the neck, and God is happy because he gets to punish them. Nope, nope, nope, nope. That's other men that want to do that. And we dast not be in that group of other men that want to punish them, because we want to punish them. You know, vengeance. But look at this, in verse 5. And all this trouble, and you shall know that I am the Lord. Speaking of the time when you will convert these Gentile nations that hate him, but he still loves. Verse 7, I will destroy you, and you shall know that I am the Lord. Come to know the Lord. They'll be resurrected. Realize they were so bad they had to be destroyed.

Verse 11, and they shall know that I am the Lord. And verse 14, and they shall know my vengeance, says the Lord God. And they shall know that I am the Lord. Verse 17, when I shall lay my vengeance on them. It's necessary for us humans to have a certain degree of trauma. Some are harder heads than others. We've got the whole plan mapped out for us that we don't have to worry about. Okay, that's all for that. That's the three biggies. The next one is the minor prophets, and that is a focus on Edom, especially Obadiah, that I'd like to handle separately in a different sermon. It's the same thing, but it gives further understanding of what's going on in this war and then what will happen, what God is leading to. And so Edom is in a class by itself. It includes Amalek. You know, the Palestinians have a lot of Amalekites, but it's in a class by itself. Now, I'd like to go to Zechariah. We can wrap it up because there's an answer that you probably asked, I have. Who's going to win? So I'd like to read verse 12, and this is also some of its cryptic, but it's pretty clear because it's right at the end. This is Zechariah chapter 12. I think I said verse. It's right at the very end, but it's before the great conflagration of everything where the king of the north comes down and just wipes out everything. This is still in that last period where the nations surrounding Israel, that small area of the Middle East, are fighting each other. The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel says the Lord, who stretched forth the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth and forms the spirit of man within him. Very important verse there about God forming the spirit. Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling. That's translated in different ways because it's Hebrew. That's why Hebrew is that way. And so this cup of trembling, or to make everyone just fear, they hate Israel, but God is going to make it so they are required to fear Israel. Laying the foundation of the earth—pardon me, that was verse 1. Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege, both against Judah and against Jerusalem. Okay, Mr. Shabia actually mentioned this being in a siege.

Or was that in a different sermon I heard? He did mention it in this one, you know. I mean, that's how you win wars. Surround them, cut them off, and they give up or die or something, but you win. And so Jerusalem will be sieged again, be sieged. And in the day that I will make Jerusalem—in that day I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone. So it's a cup of trembling and a burdensome stone for all peoples.

They're going to be in the middle of the world and causing all kinds of trouble for the big powers.

And I take it this continues as the West kind of fades away and becomes weak and toothless, maybe loses a war, or maybe just dies of its own rebellion. But anyway, Jerusalem then stands alone in the whole world. And basically the whole world hates Jerusalem. For all peoples, all that burden themselves with it, those who come in there to do something about it and join in the coalition—there's a coalition of a lot of these nations mentioned in Psalm 83 that will come against Jerusalem. So those that join in that and actually get into the fight, burden themselves with it, shall be cut in pieces.

It doesn't matter how big they are. Even though all the nations of the earth be gathered together against it. There's no evidence that the other Israelite, the big Israelite nations, if you remember Manasseh, turn against Israel. They just seem to fade away. And of all the other nations, apparently, that will, if not join in that confederation, pretty well despise Israel. But God says He will cut them to pieces. Those people who dare to attack His nation and His city, His place there. And it's not a matter that shows it's not a matter of people owning it, having a right to it. It's God. It's His plans. It's His place. So, in that day, continuing verse 4, the governors, verse 5, well, God will be active and help Israel in their, that is Judah in their fighting. Verse 5, the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength, and the Lord of hosts their God.

In that day I will make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire before the wood, and like a torch of fire in the sheath. He's took a tour, a blazing torch, in a sheath of dry leaves. It's just going to go up and blazes. And He says that's how Israel is going to be to the nations round about. So is Iran, this huge nation of Iran, going to beat little Israel? Nope! The capital P. No! God is with Israel, and they're going to be this, like a torch in the sheaves. They shall devour all the peoples round about, on the right hand on the left, and the Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in their own place. So that'll happen after Christ comes. There's a period of trouble. Now, have you noticed the timing is not mentioned here? Because so many of the prophecies, in all the prophecies it seems, it skipped to the end, to the end result. And, you know, I'll make Jerusalem peaceful again. But in this period of time, when the nations close to Israel are attacking Israel, anybody who fights them gets cut to pieces, and God says He will do that. He's not going, He will not let them fail until it's time for God Himself to punish Judah. And so that's how it's going to go. That's God's Word. It's going to be. Now, some general warnings to conclude here. If you've ever thought of this, there's going to be a time when the big nations of the world come behind, the kings of the east, the kings of the west, destroy the king of the south, and clash just north of Jerusalem.

But this is before that. And Christ said, you'll recall, when you see the armies surrounding Jerusalem know that it is at the doors. It's about to happen. Well, when you see the armies of the great powers of the east and the powers of the west coming together, it has happened. And that's Armageddon. That's the last. So when you see the smaller armies of the nations surrounding the nation of Israel, and you see them, when would that be? Well, I'd like to propose 2023 for one. You know, it's happened before to some degree. I actually don't think this is the final. There are some other things that have to happen before this actually triggers World War III. I'm fairly safe in saying that, especially with the caveat that that's my opinion. But when you see the armies surrounding Israel, that's not the end. Christ said, it's the beginning of sorrows. So I don't think it's the end yet. So what do we have to do? Well, it's obvious. We have to become closer to God. We have to really focus on what we're supposed to do to not be afraid on that fear-take-hold. And we have to do like God does. He looks at everybody. He deeply loves every child He's met. He said He formed not only the body, but even the spirit of man within Him formed their brain and their mind. Satan has polluted it, but God can fix it. So God looks at everybody in this state like Christ did just before He was about to be killed. He did not want to die. Prayed three times for an hour. It was just a horrible thing. He was, as a man, He was trying to resist it. But God looks at all this and He looks like Christ said, this is the very purpose for which I came. I want to go down there to Jerusalem and be killed. That's why I came here. And so we have to look at this and keep the attitude of God who loves everybody, which is harder and harder, and not be sucked into taking sides in this. We're not taking physical sides of the war. We know what God has said. He's going to protect His nation Israel until they need to be punished.

In the end, everybody, everybody will be given a chance. So this is a challenge for us. We're in dangerous times. We have to draw closer to God. We can't get sucked into the petty, even though they involve millions of people sometimes, the petty arguments of man. We have to stay apart from that and stay in contact with God every day. And that's it. That's what we have to do. So it ends up in the joy of our redemption. And I did what I said. I covered some of the things that God said about that small area that we tried to draw some lessons from it to. So let us do that and rejoice in whatever snacks we have here and the excellent fellowship of the Sabbath.